CT How would YOU imprive the CT?

This is my first post, long time lurker here.

Anyway, I often see threads about how one would wish the change the PT (which is understandable)

But what tweaks/major changes would YOU have made, if you were directing/producing the movie?

Personally, the only change I would make is deleting Luke and Leia's kiss.

 

Star Wars without incest is just wrong!

I can only imagine making the pace of ANH match ESB a little more...

For ROTJ I think I'd like to chop up the palace stuff with some cutaways to imperial machinations or something, then cut a lot of Ewok stuff, or make them less civilised/friendly in their village. Impress the idea of Ewoks as cute looking but vicious.

I'm assuming that all the excesses of the Special Editions never existed.

Welcome, by the way.

 

Thanks! Yes, the Ewoks are most definitely rubbish, and while I was a small child when I first saw them in theaters (and admittedly liked them), I have since grown to thoroughly despise them.

 

I find it a little absurd that out of all the Star Wars fans in the world, many of whom likely of techy jobs, none of them are capable of doing so themselves, and providing it as a fan service.

 

A guy called Adywan has a fan project called Star Wars Revisited, he re-edits the Special Editions with OCD-like attention to detail. ANH is done (and it's a masterpiece), ESB is nearly done.

http://swrevisited.wordpress.com/anhr-change-list/
http://swrevisited.wordpress.com/esbr-facts/
http://swrevisited.wordpress.com/rotjr-facts/

He's even planned re-edits of the PT:
http://swrevisited.wordpress.com/ptr-facts/

 

that's awesome! Thanks!!

 

I wouldn't make any changes, honestly, and the reason is in those edit lists above - or, more specifically, in the number of changes listed that are not simple restorations or updates to modern visual/audio quality. There are things I would do differently if I was the creator of Star Wars, and I don't agree with the way George Lucas has tried to outright write over the existence of earlier editions. But they are his movies (well, done with the frequently-invaluable assistance of others, but you know what I mean), and I don't feel qualified or comfortable imposing my personal preferences upon them, even as a speculative exercise.

 

Removing all puppetry - especially Yoda & the Ewoks, and removing all claymation/stop-motion - especially the rancor, and replacing it with quality CGI. If I got the rights to Star Wars that would literally be the FIRST thing I would do!

 

Set ROTJ 3 years after ESB...Luke somehow bypassing Vader in power in one year seems hard to believe. Three years would also allow for a more powerful Rebel Alliance, one that might actually be able to realistically challenge the Empire at Endor. Lastly, replace Ewoks with Wookies.

 

I would have to write an essay on this subject, just as I would have to write an essay on improvements for the PT.

 

I would take out that NOOOO that Lucas put in Jedi.

Add some more shots of Rebels fighting the Imperials on Endor (as opposed to Ewoks mostly).

 

THIS. The fact that Luke suddenly becomes a legitimate Jedi Knight in such short a time and without ANY further training from Yoda always irks me. Perhaps it took them a couple years to track down the exact location of Han Solo?

Also, I would pace the Hoth battle a little better, and add more "roller coaster" tracking shots of the snow speeder. That scene never really flowed for me.

I also would give Boba a slightly larger role, and wouldn't have him die like a punk.

Other than that... Honestly there isn't a whole lot I would want to change, even if I thought it would make the movies better. They are too sacred for me to imagine being changed completely.

 

I would probably rework the battle on Endor. The Ewoks don't work in that scene at all. The dialoge tells us that this is a legion of the best troops at the Empire's disposal, and it's basically a slapstick routine. I would lessen the Ewok's role in the battle, and focus more on the rebellion against the Empire. The Ewoks alone are fine, it's their role in the battle that is a problem for me.

 

I would've fought harder to get Peter Suschitzky to serve as DP on all three films and not just ESB. But I would've light to see his lighting reigned in just a wee bit (ESB has a very glossy, overly shiny Hollywood look at times instead of the more documentary-esque ANH), and I'd have made a few trims to the script (I cringe at lines like "laser brain" and "who's scruffy lookin'?").

Also, maybe it would've been neat to see Lucas' initial plan for a more racially diverse cast put into action. A black Han, a Japanese Leia and Toshiro Mifune himself as Obi-Wan? I'd watch that.

 

Who tells you that ROTJ is not set 3 years after ESB?

 

Well, it was Tarkin who killed her parents by blowing up Alderaan, not necessarily Vader.

 

If I were Luke, upon hearing Vader's statement on Cloud City I would demand a DNA test. No way is Hitler going to tell me he's my daddy without some proof.

 

DNA test? Nah. They have the force. After all Vader says "Search your feelings, you will know it to be true."

I'm not entirely sure how I would imprive the CT but I suppose I would improve it by having less stormtroopers but have them shooting more accurately. The hopelessly inefficient "professional soldiers" made the film less believable for me

 

I was just watching the OT on blu-ray for the first time this weekend, and those boxes around the TIE fighters are SO distracting, especially in ANH. Light yellow against a black background? Seriously?

Another issue: lightsabers. I noticed that most activations/deactivations are off-camera, due to the frame jumps. The ones you do see, the frame jumps are terrible. Notice when Luke turns on his father's lightsaber for the first time how C-3PO jumps forward a good inch. Maybe digitally correct that.

Finally, fix that terrible mirrored image of Boba in ROTJ. That scene in Jabba's palace - his antenna is on the wrong side. No clue why the shpt is mirrored, but it's so distracting!

Other than that, I don't have that many gripes.

 

It's funny to me how most of the suggestions for improving the OT are minor little things...but when a similar thread is made about the PT, the list is extremely lengthy.

 

Or as I prefer, you could try the Harmy's Despecialized Editions.

A lot of these tweaks being suggested are the reason why Lucasfilm just wouldn't get behind an unaltered remastered DVD/Blu-Ray release. Even the people who like the films as they were pre-Special Editions want to see tweaks. Frame jumps, matte lines, "blobs" on the Emperor or whatever people call them, "squares" around TIE Fighters...that stuff never bothered me and didn't bother most people until they were shown stuff in movies could be altered.